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Total Abstinence Society of Ireland Medal
c.1840-1850
Diameter: 4.5 cm
Pewter Medal in Glass
Physical Description:
• Face (front): In relief, Fr. Mathew addresses kneeling crowd. Outer rim inscription reads: ‘May God bless you and grant you grace and strength to keep your promise’.
Obverse: Cruciform formula of pledge: ‘I / Promise / by the / Help of / God/ to abstain from all / intoxicating drinks / except used medicinally / and to discountenance the / cause and practice / of / intemperance’. Outer edge inscription reads: ‘The Very Rev. T. Mathew, President / The Total Abstinence Society of Ireland’.
The medal has fragments of a green ribbon and pin attached.

Total Abstinence Society of Ireland Medal
c.1840-1850
Diameter: 4.5 cm
Pewter Medal in Glass
Physical Description:
• Face (front): In relief, Fr. Mathew addresses kneeling crowd. Outer rim inscription reads: ‘May God bless you and grant you grace and strength to keep your promise’.
Obverse: Cruciform formula of pledge: ‘I / Promise / by the / Help of / God/ to abstain from all / intoxicating drinks / except used medicinally / and to discountenance the / cause and practice / of / intemperance’. Outer edge inscription reads: ‘The Very Rev. T. Mathew, President / The Total Abstinence Society of Ireland’.
The medal has fragments of a green ribbon and pin attached.

Total Abstinence Society of Ireland Medals
c.1840-1850
Diameter: 4.3 cm
Thirteen Pewter Medals
Physical Description:
• Face (front): Centre: Man and woman on pedestal on which two children are seated. The adults carry a shield surmounted by a cross, with an angel (or in some cases two angels) above. The upper part of the shield has a lamb bearing a banner. The man bears a banner with the words ‘sobriety’. The woman bears a banner with the words ‘Domestic Comfort’. Outer-edge inscription reads: ‘Total Abstinence Society of Ireland’.
Obverse: Cruciform text of pledge: ‘I / Promise / by the / Help of / God/ to abstain from all / intoxicating drinks / except used medicinally / and to discountenance the / cause and practice / of / intemperance’. Outer edge inscription reads: ‘The Very Rev. Mathew, President, Total Abstinence Society’.
One of the medals was found in an envelope from John O’Neill, Musical Instrument Manufacturer, 140 Capel Street, Dublin. An annotation on the envelope reads ‘Fr. Mathew Temperance Medal / given to Fr. Stanislaus Kavanagh OFM Cap. / by an old woman in Kells, County Meath’.

Face (front): Centre: Man and woman on pedestal on which two children are seated. The adults carry a shield surmounted by a cross, with an angel above. The upper part of the shield has a lamb bearing a banner. The man bears a banner with the words ‘sobriety’. The woman bears a banner with the words ‘Domestic Comfort’. Outer-edge inscription reads: ‘In hoc signo vinces’.
Obverse: Cruciform text of pledge. Outer edge inscription reads: ‘Total Abstinence Society, The Very Rev. T. Mathew, President’. Inner rim inscription reads ‘Founded 10 April 1838’.

One of the medals is engraved on the rim with the inscription ‘P.P. Daly took the Total Abstinence Pledge May 20th 1840’. This medal was found in an envelope with a note by Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. The note reads ‘This medal was in the hands of a jeweller in Cork, who had purchased it with the intention of smelting it. Fr. Angelus with permission of the Fr. Provincial bought it for £7 0s 0d the amount the jeweller had paid for it’. With two paper reproductions of the medals.

A collection of Total Abstinence Society medals collected by Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap. and other Capuchin friars.
• Silver medal of the Metropolitan Total Abstinence Society. The front (face) shows St. Michael with the winds and the inscription ‘Who is like God’. The obverse: Cruciform text of pledge. The outer-rim inscription reads ‘The Metropolitan Total Abstinence Society The Rev. A. O’Connell President. Inner rim reads ’26 Nov. 1839’.
• Pewter medal of the Total Abstinence Society. Fr. Angelus notes that the medal is extremely worn and defaced.
• Silver medal of the Total Abstinence Society of Ireland. Fr. Angelus notes that the maker was Woodhouse of Dublin.
• Silver medal of the Total Abstinence Society of Ireland. Fr. Angelus notes that the maker was Jones of Dublin. A green ribbon is attached to the medal. An annotation on the covering envelope reads ‘Presented to Fr. Angelus by Miss Tobin, 13 Killarney Street, Dublin’.
• Pewter medal of the Cork Total Abstinence Society. An annotation on the covering envelope reads ‘Presented to Fr. Angelus by Mr. Cosgrave’. The medal is very worn and defaced.
• Pewter medal of St. Mary’s Temperance Society, Kilkenny. The medal is very worn and defaced. For more information on St. Mary’s Temperance Society see the 'Journal of the American Temperance Union', Vols. 1-4 (1837) at p. 190. It is noted that St. Mary’s Temperance Society has 1,300 members with 100 to 200 members meeting on the evening of the Sabbath under the spiritual direction of the Rev. J. P. O’Reilly. The medal was probably made by Isaac Parkes (b.c.1791-1870). See: http://www.libraryireland.com/irishartists/isaac-parkes.php
• Pewter medal of the Cork Total Abstinence Society. A note attached to the medal reads ‘Lent by M.A. Rogan, 55 St. Patrick’s Road, Drumcondra’. The medal is very worn and defaced.
• Silver temperance medal. A note in the covering envelope reads ‘Presented by Mr. W. O’Herlihy, 61 Gurranabraher Avenue, Cork, apparently inherited from his grandfather, a married daughter gave it to me. Fr. Nessan Shaw OFM Cap., 13 April 1982’. The medal is very worn and defaced.

Two metal dies used to strike Total Abstinence Pledge medals. The dies are large metallic pieces that were used to medal a coin, one per each side. The dies have an inverse version of the image to be struck on the medal. One side shows a profile-view of Fr. Theobald Mathew OSFC. The obverse has the cruciform text of pledge. The maker’s stamp on the dies reads ‘G. Cook, 21 Regent Row, Birmingham’.